Toshiba’s 2560×1440 Kirabook is a high-res laptop for the Windows world

The 13.3" Ultrabook challenges the Retina MacBook Pro and the Chromebook Pixel.

If you're a Windows user who has been stealing jealous glances at the high-resolution screens of the Retina MacBook Pro and the Chromebook Pixel, Toshiba's just-announced Kirabook may be of interest to you. The laptop's banner feature is its 13.3-inch, 2560×1440 display—just slightly lower than the smaller Retina MacBook's 2560×1600, but still considerably higher than most Ultrabooks.

Like the other high-resolution laptops we've seen so far, you'll pay a premium to get the Kirabook—pricing starts at $1,599, which includes an Ivy Bridge Core i5 CPU, a 256GB SSD, 8GB of RAM, and a backlit keyboard. A $1,999 model will also add a touchscreen and a Core i7 processor.

Toshiba's since-pulled press release, currently posted on Engadget, says that the laptop is 0.7 inches thick and weighs 2.6 pounds. This puts it in between the Pixel (0.64 inches) and the Retina MacBook Pro (0.75 inches) in thickness, though it's considerably lighter than either of the two (the Pixel is 3.35 pounds and the MacBook weighs 3.57). The laptop will be available for pre-order beginning on May 3rd and will begin shipping on May 12.

Andrew Cunningham / Andrew has a B.A. in Classics from Kenyon College and has over five years of experience in IT. His work has appeared on Charge Shot!!! and AnandTech, and he records a weekly book podcast called Overdue.